Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security Studies

Series/Report no.:

Mershon Center for International Security Studies. Conferences

Abstract:

In his 1972 essay "The Diffusion of Power," Walt Rostow noted the shift
in power in the world community away from Washington and Moscow.Particularly concerned with the developing world, he asked a question
that has yet to be fully answered: "Are men capable of organizing this
fragile global community of diffusing power in reasonably stable and
peaceful ways, or will the diffusion of power lead to more violence and
disorder than we already know?"
This conference will explore how this "diffusion of power" transformed
global politics in the 1960s and beyond. Bringing together graduate
students and junior faculty, it will examine the connections between
three broad conceptual questions:
• How did the political and material terrain of the pan-European world
change during this period?
• How did actors inside and outside government bureaucracies
interpret and value these changes?
• How did geopolitical "flashpoints" in the global South rally, reflect,
and reconstitute understandings of global power after 1960?
Taken together, these points aim to explore the assumptions
underlying Rostow's query, as well as investigate the paradoxes of
change in the postcolonial era. Space no doubt emerged for the
articulation of alternative visions of world order –- visions often rooted
in themes of racial justice, national sovereignty, and human rights -–
but questions remain over the depth, nature, and permanence of these
transformations.

Description:

The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/1811/34020

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